If this analysis is confirmed, then we suddenly have prime targets for human landing sites. We would also have a huge bump up in the odds that a sustainable Mars Outpost and/or eventual Mars Colony could be established?

I know I’m getting way ahead of things but I’m already picturing in my mind a human crew excavating those ice deposits. My first thought was that the ice would obviously need to be examined to see if there is any evidence of native life. Second thought was the image of astronauts unrolling large bladders they brought with them and melting the ice to create large water reserves. Then a pressurized tent-like structure like in the movie “The Martian” to house hydroponic gardens that would grow a lot more food than the potatoes Matt Damon had to eat.

All of these activities would require significant power sources. So aren’t we fortunate that also released this week in the news was an article about the testing of an affordable fission nuclear power system which could run processing equipment to transform resources on the Red Planet into oxygen, water and fuel. The system was developed as a test-bed for the NASA Kilopower Project.